Past European male historians, anthropologists, and scholars often assumed that women warriors were few and far between based upon the narrow lens through which they focused. Yet, archeological finds and historical records indicate otherwise. Women have been warriors in many cultures all over the world and, rather than being anomalies, have actually been an integral part of defense in some cultures. The women warriors included below are just a small number of notable women who have fought countless wars and battles in and for their respective countries. Don't forget to scroll down.
Princess Ix Wak Chan Ajaw (also known as Lady Six Sky) was a warrior queen who ruled with an iron fist and launched eight successful, brutal military campaigns over five years. Her territory was near the modern day Naranjo in the Petén region near the Belizean/Guatemalan border. Her stela at the Naachtun site depicts her with a battle shield strapped to her arm and standing on the back of an enemy captive, a lord of Calakmul. Ajaw was the royal daughter of B’alaj Chan K’awiil, the warring Tikal lord. He had broken with that Mayan leadership to establish his own kingdom, and he needed to establish political allies. So, he sent his daughter to neighboring Naranjo, whose ruling dynasty had been destroyed by years of conflict. Aja's stela’s calendrical inscriptions record the date of her arrived as 682 CE. Her father charged her with reviving Naranjo’s decimated lineage and kingdom. To that end, she married a minor official and gave birth to an heir. She ruled for at least a decade as a regent to her son, K’ak’ Tiliw Chan Chaak (probably the figure remembered as Smoking Squirrel), who ascended the Naranjo throne in 693 at age 5. Her stelae, one of several of her at Naranjo, were originally paired with monuments to her son; this was a common way of denoting lines of accession. On one stela is a commemoration that celebrated a Period Ending in 702. A Period Ending is the close of a calendar cycle marked with rituals by Mayan rulers. So, it is likely that she ruled for about a decade as her son's regent. During that time, she grew Naranjo's power and built up the military force so that she could conquer her neighbors. Recent finds in Guatemala actually show that there were at least ten warrior queens in the lowland Maya territory, so Ajaw, contrary to popular belief, was part of a trend rather than an exception.
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"The Power and Glory of the Mayan Queens" - Discover Magazine
"A Formidable Mayan Woman, Captured in Stone: A Depictin of Lady Sic Sky Identified Her as Both Ritual Priestessand Triumphant Ruler" - The Wall Street Journal
Yennega was the daughter of Naba Nedega, the King of Gambaga, an area in the northern part of the present-day Republic of Ghana. She was a favorite daughter, and because of this favoritism, she was able to convince her father to let her learn how to ride a horse, a privilege that was usually reserved for men. She became incredibly proficient, according to legend, and also learned how to fight. She was, in fact, a noted warrior queen. Then, her history gets a little fuzzy. For some reason, she decided to leave her home and wander into the bush where she had an amorous encounter with a man. His origin is contested, but what is not contested is that she became pregnant from the enounter and gave birth to Ouedraogo. He, in turn, became the first Moaga chieftain and founder of the dynasties of the Moose (plural of Moaga in the Moore langauge) chieftains. She is thought to have lived between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries.
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Women in African History: Yennega Biography - UNESCO
Yennenga: Ancestor of Burkina Faso's Mossi People - Deutsche Welle
Yuenü (also known as the Lady of Yue, Aliao, and the Maiden of the Southern Forest) was a legendary Chinese swordswoman from the state of Yue, in the province of what is now Zhejiang. No one knows her actual name, but she most likely lived in the 5th century BCE, as she was said to serve King Goujian of Yue at the end of the Spring and Autumn era. During her life, there was an ongoing war between Yue and Wu, a state to the north. Frustrated with his lack of progress with this war, the king wanted to improve his troops' skills, and he heard about a young woman of the Southern Forest whose skill with the sword was famous. So, he decided to invite her to court and test her skill, especially since she had developed her own sword-fighting style supposedly for protection in her native forest. She was able to fend off the attacks of multiple opponents during this testing, and she also was an impressive archer. Satisfied with her qualifications, Goujian gave her the title of Yuenü and tasked her with training his officers and soldiers in her techniques. Her techniques was said to be simple, yet powerful, and were based on a philosophy of strengthening the spirit, while remaining openly calm in combat. She also introduced the concept of using agility and fluid speed to counter the advantages of physical strength. In fact, her philosophy about swordsmanship is still alive and well to this day. In addition, Yuenü may have developed a new form of metallurgy that could create untarnishable bronze swords with flexible cores and extremely sharp edges. These became known as 'Yuenü swords" after her. Bolstering this claim, in 1965. archeologists discovered one such sword buried alongside the remains of King Goujian.
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Yuenü - The Female Soldier
Influential Women in Maritla Arts, Part 1: Historical Figures: Yuenü - AWMA
Boudicca was an ancient British warrior queen who led a revolt against the Romans around 60 CE. Her husband, Prastutagus, was king of the Iceni people, who lived in what is now Norfolk. They were living under Roman occupation at the time, and thinking to garner favor and imperial protection, when the king died without a male heir, he left his kingdom and wealth to both his two daughters and the emperor, who was Nero at the time. Instead of the co-rulership that the king had envisioned, the Romans plundered his kingdom and humiliated his family by publicly flogging Boudicca and ordering slaves to rape her daughters. Enraged by these acts, Boudicca took up arms and raised a rebellion throughout East Anglia. Her army set fire to and razed Camulodunum (Colchester), Verulamium (St. Albans), Londinium (London), and several military posts. According to the Roman historian Tacitus, Boudicca’s rebels massacred 70,000 Romans and pro-Roman Britons and cut to pieces the Roman 9th Legion. Finally, Suetonius, who had made a tactical withdrawal with his troops into the relative safety of the Roman military zone, decided to challenge Boudica, but he had to make sure that he had enough troops.. He assembled an army of 10,000 regulars and auxiliaries, including the 14th Legion. They engaged with Boudicca's troops near what was most likely present-day Fenny Stratford on Watling Street. They fought a desperate battle, which ended in Boudicca's defeat. Despite that defeat, she had solidified a place in history by defying he Romans and proving that they were not invincible. After her loss, Boudicca either took poison or died of shock or illness, not willing to be a slave under Roman occupation, defiant to the end.
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Boudicca: Queen of Britain - Britannica
Boudica - Historic UK
Lakshmi Bai was born in Kashi, India and was known for not only her martial arts prowess, but for refusing to cede Jhansi to the British when she was queen regent. In fact, she led an Indian revolt against the British (1857-1858). Before all of that happened, though, she was brought into Baji Rao II's household. There weren't many girls at court, so she trained with the boys, learning martial arts. In fact, she became quite proficient at the sword and riding. While at court, she caught the eye of the maharaja of Jhansi, Gangadhar Rao, and married him. Unfortunately, they remained childless, so just before his death, the maharaja adopted an heir to assume the throne, which was established tradition. The British governor-general of India, Lord Dalhousi, however, refused to acknowledge the adopted child as heir and proceeded to annex Jhansi using the excuse of the "doctrine of lapse." He appointed an agent of the East India company to oversee administrative matters, not realizing what his actions would spark. The 22-year-old queen refused to cede Jhansi to the British. Seeing an opportunity when a mutiny against British occupation broke out in in 1857, Bai, after being appointed as a regent of Jhansi on behalf of her adopted son, began making alliances with the mutineers and other disgruntled parties. Eventually, she amassed an army and moved to attack the British. The British and Bai's troops engaged in a fierce battle at the fort of Jhansi, where, even when it was clear she would lose, Bai refused to surrender. Instead, she managed to escape. She and another rebel leader, Tantia Tope, gathered what was left of their forces and attacked the city-fortress of Gwalior successfully, seizing the treasury and the arsenal. Nana Sahib, another prominent rebel leader, was proclaimed as the ruler of this area. After taking Gwalior, Lakshmi Bai marched east to Morar to confront a British counterattack led by General Hugh Rose, whose forces she had barely escaped at the fort. Dressed as a man, she fought a fierce battle and was killed in combat. Her rebellion solidified her place in Indian history.
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Lakshmi Bai: Queen of Jhansi - Britannica
Overlooked No More: Rani of Jhansi, India’s Warrior Queen Who Fought the British - New York Times
Pi'tamaka (Running Eagle) was originally named Brown Weasel Woman and was born into the Piikáni (Piegan Blackfeet) tribe sometime in the early 19th century. Not interested in female pursuits, she wanted to hunt and fight, and her father indulged her. One day, as legend has it, the Crow stole horses from her tribe. She joined the men and refused to go back. They were successful in their endeavor, and when she was on watch shortly thereafter, she killed either one or two Crow who were trying to steal the horses back, thereby earning her a reputation. Her second adventure was against the Pend d’Oreille, who lived across the mountains. This time they captured over 600 horses. Although she was shot at when they were retreating, the two arrows both struck her shield, and she was not injured. Over time, she earned such a good reputation as a hunter and warrior that, during one summer when the tribes gathered and warriors recounted their exploits, the Piikáni chief told Brown Weasel Woman to share her story. Such was a high honor and demonstrated the respect that she had earned. He also bestowed upon her the name Pi'tamaka (Running Eagle), demonstrating the esteem with which she was held. Pi'tamaka continued to hunt and raid, and she died as a warrior at the hands of the Flathead tribe around 1878. Pitamakan Lake in Glacier National Park is named after her.
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Pi'tamaka (Running Eagle) - National Park Service
Running Eagle (Pi’tamaka), Blackfeet (Piegan) Woman Warrior - Amazing Montanans Biography - Lifeways of Montana's First Peoples - Montana Historical Society
Trung Trac and Trung Nhi were two sisters who successfully rebelled against the Chinese occupation in Vietnam and together ruled their newly formed country for almost two years The Trung sisters were the daughters of a general who ran the district of Giao Chi (northern Vietnam). Because of their father and their position in society, they were allowed to learn literature and martial arts. Eventually, Trung Trac married Thi Sach, a general from a neighboring district, but when the ruling Chinese increased taxes on salt and began demanding bribes, Thi started to organize his fellow aristocrats in a rebellion against these measures. Hearing of his plans, the Chinese subsequently arrested and killed Thi. Enraged by the death or her husband and the Chinese's treatment of her people in general, Trung Trac conferred with her sister, and the two began to gather troops. Armed with swords, bows and arrows, axes and spears, the Trung sisters led their army to storm sixty-five citadels under Chinese rule and the governor’s home, successfully forcing the Chinese leadership out of the region. The group promptly decided that they were a new country, and they declared that Trung Trac would be their queen. Yet, the Emporer of China, Guang Wu Di, could not let such a defeat stand, and he sent his general ,Ma Yuan, and his troops to reconquer the region. Unfortunately, the two sisters were not prepared for such an onslaught, and they were defeated in battle in 43 AD, near the site of what is now known as the city of Hanoi. They were captured and summarily executed. Yet, their successful rebellion against the Chinese forces would solidify their place in Vietnamese history.
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How Two Vietnamese Sisters Led a Revolt Against Chinese Invaders—in the 1st Century - History.com
Trung Sisters: Vietnamese Rebel Leaders - Britannica
Webiorg (alsos spelled Wigbiorg or Veborg) was a shieldmaiden who was born sometime in the eighth century either in what is modern day Denmark or Norway. Webiorg served King Harald Hildetand, who had declared himself ruler of Denmark and Sweden. The Viceroy King Sigurd Hring of Sweden did not like this one bit, and so they went to war in what would be known as the Battle of Bråvalla. Webiorg, however, was not the only female soldier, but she was one of three women generals who directed their fellow shieldmaidens, the other two female generals being King Harald's own daughter, Princess Hed, and Visna. During the battle, one warrior, Soth, had managed to defeat one of Harald's best fighters, and Webiorg challenged him. Although she beat him, he managed to escape and cut off Visna's arm. Then, when Webiorg threatened to slay more champions, Thorkill, a native of Tellemark, shot her with an arrow, ending her life.
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The Danish History: Books I-IX by Saxo Grammaticus - Project Gutenberg (use the find command to search for Webiorg)